Monogatari no Neko
by YasashiiAkaiNeko
Summary: Are is a shinigami who had been experimented on and found by Yuruichi. Now she is part cat and Yoruichi is sending her back to Soul society. What kind of chaos will she get up to? and what will Shunsui do when she claims him as hers as only a cat can?
1. Are

Chapter 1: Are

Soi Fon POV

"So I would like you to take her back with you to Soul Society." Lady Yoruichi finished setting down her cup of tea, her golden eyes glinting in amusement at my obvious excitement on being able to do something for Lady Yoruichi. Suddenly the door burst open and a young woman appeared jumping at Lady Yoruichi, I watched in outraged bemusement as a disheveled Kisuke Urahara appeared at the door with black scribble marks all over his face and a largish sized lump on his forehead. Seeing this Lady Yoruichi just sighed, shaking her head slightly.

"Ane-chan, Kisuke-nii is trying to make Are-cat take a bath!" the young woman complained childishly, hugging Lady Yoruichi tighter. I abruptly observed her skin color which looked like a washed out version of Lady Yoruichi's, her long thigh length hair the color almost identical to Urahara's, the dark green collar with the large bell on it, the cat-like ears that twitched in annoyance as she poked her tongue out at Urahara and the long furred tail that currently twitched in a fit of outrage.

"Sorry, Yoruichi I tried to trick her into a bath but she found out," he told her sheepishly, rubbing his head ruefully "I gotta say though, she is extremely fast and packs quite a wallop when she wants too." He continued, coming into the room and sitting down at the table after greeting me, ignoring the girl's outraged hiss.

"Listen, Are if you are to go with Soi Fon here to the Soul Society you will need to get used to bathing frequently." Lady Yoruichi gently explained to the girl, Are while softly scratching her furry ears.

"But it takes forever to dry out Are-cat's fur once it gets wet," she complained drowsily, "But Are-cat'll do it if you say so Yoruichi-nee." she finished, starting to purr as Lady Yoruichi continued scratching her ears.

"Well, off you both go now." Lady Yoruichi told the pair pushing Are away lightly and giving Urahara a significant look "And Are, you should probably get out of your Gigai before you bathe." Are sighed and started to walk off, however just before she moved off I just barely noticed her body blur slightly for a second. I shook my head thinking to myself that the lack of sleep was going to my head as I hadn't had a decent nights sleep in over a week due to the overload in work. Suddenly she was behind me and whispering in my ear with a wicked look on her face.

"That's right, Are-cat's their daughter. . . Just kidding, no need to worry Are-cat's no relation to either." she suddenly disappeared as suddenly as she had come, my expression changing from shock/horror to relief. Turning back to Lady Yoruichi I started in surprise as I saw the same black scribbling's on her face as Urahara's only hers were mockingly cat referenced.

"Sorry about that Soi Fon, if one of us isn't there to supervise her she wouldn't bath properly, anyway would you like to stay the night? You look like you could use a good night's sleep." Lady Yoruichi said before sighing heavily not noticing the scribble on her face making me think that she hadn't seen the girl move either, meaning that despite the childish, comedic side she shows, she is extremely fast and most likely, just as powerful.

"Would it be alright if I did?" I asked tiredly, inwardly delighted to be near my idol for that long.

"Of course, you can if you can stand the drama," Lady Yoruichi replied dramatically before sighing again getting up and leaving after saying "Feel free to take a nap or something while I go check on those two, to make sure they haven't destroyed the bathroom… again."

I had taken Lady Yoruichi's offer at face value and it felt like I had just fallen asleep when I was woken for dinner by Are which consisted of putting ice down my Shihakushō, drawing funny faces on my face and when they didn't work sticking a wet finger in my ear and blowing after which whispering in my ear "Psst…Yoruichi-nee is gonna disappear again if you don't wake up." which made me shoot up straight flinging off Are who twisted cat-like in midair to land on her feet,

"No, Lady Yoruichi don't leave me again!" I cried only to discover a snickering Are watching me with those creepy swirling silver eyes of hers glittering with merriment.

"Just kidding!" she called out to me, as I glared at her she just smirked and poked her tongue out.

"Are ya gonna come with Are-cat or ya just gonna stand and stare at Are-cat all day." Are asked her long blonde hair glinting silver in the light, spiraling out around her as she turned and treaded out the door. As she left I noticed how eerily quiet she moved her footsteps making no noise as she moved not even making her bell jingle.

I followed a capering Are into the dining room and saw a really exasperated Lady Yoruichi and Urahara both with multi colored scribbles, bright snot green hair that seemed stuck in a weird shape (in Lady Yoruichi's case at least it resembled snakes which couldn't be said for Urahara). After they had cleaned themselves up to look like their normal selves we sat down for dinner, it was a blessedly normal affair with Are thankfully keeping her mouth shut, only giving me impish looks every now and then, until Yoruichi made a comment that caused Urahara to bring out a folding fan and hold it in front of his face. We had been talking about the experiment that had been done on Are when Lady Yoruichi praised Urahara on discovering a crucial piece of information that I didn't understand a word of, and Urahara brought out that fan. Apparently I wasn't the only one who noticed Are's malevolent glare aimed at the fan, for Lady Yoruichi urgently motioned for Urahara to put it away. The next thing I hear is a sibilant malevolent whisper that did not sound like Are and the air went heavy with something unexplainable.

"**I do not like your fan Kisuke-chan, Che!" **suddenly the sensation disappeared and Are's expression changed from malevolent to annoyance so rapidly that except for that malevolent whisper you'd think it had never happened.

"Are-cat doesn't like your fan Kisuke-nii, if ya don't get rid of it, Are-cat is gonna use it as a chew toy." Are remarked to Urahara, who sheepishly put it away commenting

"Well with an appearance of Shinkirō, how could I not." He then looked expectantly at Are who stared confusedly back at him saying

"Who is Shinkirō? And why are ya all staring at Are-cat for."

Urahara looked disappointed for a moment, and I decided to ask what was up later. Well we finished our meal peacefully, retreating to the lounge room after that where I decided to ask Urahara what that comment earlier was about while Are was doing the dishes.

"What was that comment about Shin-something earlier?"

Both Lady Yoruichi and Urahara looked at me before looking at each other.

"Well, you found her so you should tell her." Urahara said.

"But you can explain it to her better than I could, Kisuke so you can tell her about it." Lady Yoruichi replied, sounding slightly annoyed.

"Very well," he sighed, leaning forwards "This is the situation, from what we can gather, Are's mind is split into two people one is Are who you know and the other is Shinkirō." Urahara leaned back watching me expressionlessly as I took it in.

"So you're basically telling me that there are two Are's right?" I questioned, alarmed at the thought of two Are's.

"No, Shinkirō is completely different from Are, it would be best if you thought of the two of them as completely separate individuals." Lady Yoruichi told me seriously also leaning forwards, bracing her arms on her knees.

"So how did this come about?" I asked in curiosity, staring at the two of them.

"Well, we don't actually. . ." Lady Yoruichi broke off, as the subject of our discussion, Are bounced into the room, and into Urahara's lap where she wrapped her arms around his neck and laid her head upon his shoulder, smiling at me sleepily, seeming for the first time like an innocent child rather than a devil in disguise with that sleepy look on her delicate pixie-like face that was completely enviable rather than that demonic mischief look that usually haunted her face.

"We will finish this discussion later, if you like?" Urahara asked quietly glancing down at the now slumbering Are as I nodded silently "I'll just put her into bed, the child's exhausted". With that he retreated towards what I'd assume are the bedrooms carrying the still sleeping Are like she weighed nothing, considering that she was rather tall though extremely slender.

"Well, time for a little sake I believe." Lady Yoruichi said, reaching for the bottle that I'd somehow managed to miss during my quick scan of the room when I'd first come in.

"Want some?" she asked.

I was thinking about the things they had told me last night, as I watched Are leap around in front of me within the Senkaimon as we raced through the dividing realm between the Soul Society and the Living World. The end of the passageway suddenly loomed ahead and with a delighted cry Are jumped through it ignoring or not hearing my warning not to recklessly jump out. A warning that turned out to be justified as I stepped out to find Are lying atop a winded Jūshirō who she had bowled over. I watched as Are quickly jumped up and easily lifted Jūshirō into her arms as she looked at him worriedly, panicking slightly as he started coughing violently.

"Ane-chan, what should Are-cat do?" she asked me pleadingly, her usually lyrical, slightly mocking voice going faintly high pitched with fear.

"Take him to the fourth Division, to a woman named Unohana who is the current Captain of that Division." I replied, and she took off halfway through my answer not even bothering to ask for directions. Funny thing was she was heading in the most direct route towards the fourth.


	2. Of Aliens and Baths

Disclaimer: I do not own BLEACH (but I wish I did)

This is chapter 2 of Monogatari no Neko, It took me forever to write and then I had to rewrite it so I hope you like it.

* * *

Chapter 2: Of Aliens and Baths

Are raced through the bizarre city heading towards the hum of minds that practically screamed at her '4th Division' jumping over any and all obstacles clutching the man to her chest fearfully. She reached the 4th in record time and she glanced down at the guy afraid that he had karked it, however she had nothing to fear as he was still alive, one could tell by the way he was currently hacking up his lungs. It was then she noticed the blood, making something within her shudder and a vague sense of déjà vu overtook her freezing her in place, right before the panic that followed right on its heels that sent her spinning into a full blown panic attack.

Her mind returned to find herself sitting in a chair with a short kind looking woman who had long dark hair plaited down the front standing before me.

"Ah you're calm now." She said gently to the still slightly shaken neko-chan, who immediately grinned brightly up at her.

"Retsu-nee is a nice lady." Are verbalised spontaneously, before absently picking at her claw-like nails.

"Can you tell me how you came to find this man in such a state?" Retsu asked the girl in her usual gentle way.

Are stared at her puzzlement clear on her face… until she remembered the guy she had carried here 'THAT must be who she's talking about' she thought slightly guilty.

"Are-cat is Are-cat and umm… well Are-cat sort of ran into Ani-chan jumping from the Senkaimon gate ahead of Soi Fon-nee." She told the now dubbed Retsu-nee, jumping up excitedly at the thought of Soi Fon who she had decided would be fun to play chasies with, only to be told sternly to calm down. It was then that she noticed the man that she'd knocked down lying on a white bed with long things coming from his arms connecting to strange wheelie poles. Her mind immediately conjured up an image of what she could do with those wheelie poles bringing a wicked grin to her face, but she suppressed it with great effort knowing that the idea was not important at the moment, seeing as the guy was currently watching her. "Are-cat sorry she knocked ya down Nii-chan," she told him, going on silent steps to his side "but Are-cat didn't know ya was an alien."

"What do you mean? I'm as human as anybody else." he said with a quizzical tone of voice, staring at her in a way that made her giggle with his long white hair trailing along the pillows.

"Well ya have strange things connecting ya to those silver wheelie poles." She explained pointing at the offending items and returning to her chair not noticing as his expression cleared and became slightly amused.

"You haven't seen a place like this before, have you?" he asked gently, continuing as she shook her head mutely "This place is for sick people and unfortunately I've been here all too frequently over the years."

"That's why Are-cat doesn't know this place, since Are-cat hasn't been sick before except for when she got something Kisuke-nii called cat flu." She told him, her ears flattening in alarm at the memory. "That was bad but Are-cat got tuna when she was better so it was alright after. It's not nice to be sick." She informed him curling a lock of gold hair around a finger, staring at him. "This place scares Are-cat for some reason." She whispered to him confidingly, leaning forwards so that he could hear her clearly, her ears twitching restlessly at the sounds normal people wouldn't be able to hear. Suddenly someone entered the room, startling the already nervous Are into flying through the air, the bell around her neck ringing vibrantly for the first time in ages. She twisted mid-air, landing gracefully upon the windowsill where she perched, ears flattened and tail puffed up twitching above her head, glaring at the newcomer. She noticed his surprise and grinned at him, "Shirō-nii has pretty hair." She commented, slightly randomly, before turning towards the newcomer, not noticing the white haired taicho's reaction to her comment as he turned bright red with embarrassment, the newcomer turned out to be Soi Fon.

"I've been looking for you everywhere! How did you get here without instructions?" she asked in annoyance as Are hopped down from her perch grinning slyly at her, suddenly her expression shifted into a completely unfamiliar expression.

"**That Are may be a complete pain in the ass, but she does have one power that is useful. The power of Telepathy is her forte. Any thought past or present is open to her, Che!**" Shinkirō told the startled Soi Fon as she sauntered over to the white haired man who was looking at her in confusion, "**Well aren't you a cutie, Jūshirō-sama. My powers however are more along the lines of Telekinesis that can turn almost any object into a weapon, Che!**" Jūshirō again went bright red at being called a 'cutie' and still looking bewildered which Shinkirō noticed right away. "**Oh my, how rude I haven' introduced myself have I? Hehe, I'm called Shinkirō, Che!**" with that she turned away from the white haired taicho and back towards the small annoying woman that was currently demanding her attention.

"Shinkirō! What are you doing here? And where's Are?" the small one called Soi Fon asked in an annoying voice or so Shinkirō thought.

"**Bah! Get lost you annoying chit! Are is currently asleep so quit your whining!**" Shinkirō told her clearly irritated before completely ignoring her and concentrating on something they couldn't sense, "**He's here somewhere! I know it and when we meet it'll change both myself and Are's existence entirely, Che!**" she muttered to herself, ignoring the others as they stared at her in confusion having heard the whole monologue. 'He is close by I can sense it, but it isn't the cutie taicho, though I sense residues of his essence around him making me believe he may be a close friend of his. I guess we'll just have to keep an eye out for him,' she thought to herself slightly amused at this situation. Shinkirō instinctively parried the blow Soi Fon threw at her, catching her fist in one hand so fast no one saw her move. "**What did you think you were doing? Che!**" She asked mildly, sending chills up Jūshirō spine at the calm way she spoke as she stared down at the smaller woman before releasing the fist she still held with a shrug.

"Testing your reflexes." Soi Fon answered innocently, only to have Are return and grin cheekily at Jūshirō who stared at her bemusedly, before turning back towards Soi fon and yawning widely showing off her long white canines that tapered into delicate looking fangs but were strong enough to pierce flesh.

"Can Are-cat go nap somewhere? Coz' Are-cat is feeling sleepy." She asked fuzzily, sleep piercing its claws into her consciousness, the last thing she remembered was curling up on Shirō-nii's bed and drifting off to the pleasant sensation of someone scratching her ever twitching ears that caused her to start purring gently.

Are woke to the noise of rustling of paper and the scratching of a pen along with terse instructions and the faint clang of metal against metal. She opened her eyes to find herself in a strange room with Shirō-nii nowhere in sight. She sat up noticing that she'd been sleeping on a couch in what seemed to be Soi Fon-nee's office. Soi Fon was sitting behind a large desk that was piled high with paper, a scowl on her face doing something with all the paper, Are felt her ever present curiosity rise to the surface.

"Are ya doin lots of drawings? Can Are-cat see them?" she asked curiously, watching as the small woman jumped four foot in the air when she appeared in front of her desk.

"You! Don't startle me like that, make some noise or something!" she exclaimed in annoyance at the smirking girl, "And I am not drawing, I am doing my paperwork." She said noticing Are's tilted head as she tried to see her so called drawings. Are just shrugged, her smirk only getting bigger.

"What are Are-cat and Soi Fon-nee gonna do now? Can we play chasies?" she asked Soi Fon eagerly before answering her own questions before Soi Fon could respond, "Nah Soi Fon-nee and Are-cat can't they must get ready for the taicho 's meeting right? Is Shirō-nii all better now? She asked Soi Fon.

"Yes we had better get ready for the meeting," she replied putting down her pen, "and yes Jūshirō's much better as he's the one who carried you here. Now, you must bathe. Lady Yoruichi told me about how difficult it is to get you to bathe, but you will for me won't you?" she asked threateningly.

"Bathe?" Are squeaked "no way," she cried, bolting for the nearest exit which happened to be the window, Soi Fon right on her heels shouting imprecations.


End file.
